“But the thing was, I was too afraid to go back,” Lawal today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I didn’t care. I just kept fighting on it, and Dominick is doing the right thing by going to get it fixed.”

Cruz could also do well to mentally prepare himself for a full recovery.

“To me, coming from a high level of wrestling, you see guys have surgery all the time,” said the 31-year-old Lawal (8-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC), who gave a soft confirmation of his Jan. 17 Bellator debut in Irvine, Calif. “Being at the Olympic Training Center, there are guys that live in the training room. You see guys bounce back.

“I saw a guy who was a successful biker and lost his leg, and he went through all sorts of rehab and became a champion. Injuries don’t injure you – it’s your mentality that can injure you.”

As MMAjunkie.com earlier reported, Cruz could be benched for much of 2013 following a second ACL surgery. He has yet to comment on the procedure or his timeline for recovery.

Lawal’s mettle was seriously tested when he was hospitalized following complications from a third ACL surgery back in January. A serious staph infection almost cost him his leg, and after several arduous months of recovery and antibiotic treatment, he said in August that his knee was 75 to 80 percent healed.

Lately, he said his knee has “been good” but admits that when it comes time to compete, “Everybody goes in there less than 100 percent.”

Sympathy did not motivate Lawal to get better. Despite support from trusted confidants such as Strikeforce fighter Daniel Cormier, ex-UFC champ Rashad Evans and Bellator fighter Shawn Bunch, he ignored well-wishes from fans.

“I don’t go for the pity stuff,” Lawal said. “‘Mo, you’ll be alright. Just stay strong.’ No, just miss me with those phone calls because I don’t need them.”

There are exercises Lawal recommends to Cruz to strengthen his the muscles around his knee and hamstring, and he encourages the use of a muscle stimulator, which he said will speed recovery.

Replacing the ACL instead of fighting on it will keep scar tissue from impeding recovery, he added.

“Believe it or not, you don’t need an ACL if you have strong enough hamstrings,” said Lawal, who had the ligament replaced with a patellar bone tendon.

What Cruz needs most, perhaps, is a strong will to soldier through what’s bound to be a long process. Lawal didn’t rely upon any teammate or family member for that.

“We all have the same goals,” he said. “Me, Daniel, Bunch, Rashad, my momma, we all have the same goals to be great. They don’t need to call me. They’ll be like, ‘You know what to do?’ Yup. Get back and get that rehab and get healthy.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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